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I hope I still get some type of prize if this gets cancelled due to lack of entries.

Eh, they might just re-distribute prizes around to match the number of entries submitted appropriately. I'm practically done on my entry anyways, just re-reading and toying around with it a little til I'm fully happy with it.

A Guild Wars 2 Halloween

It was the week of Halloween, and nothing made it more evident than the swelling of the moon. Its pale face marred by the twisted sharp grin and dark eyes, lending its usual silver glow a rather ghostly and unnatural quality. Yet in Divinity’s Reach, the festive district still went at full force unaffected by the occasional runs of the Mad King’s herald, who struggled to shout over the festive tunes belting out from the mechanical orchestra. The people were used to the randomness of the district, and the sudden appearance of jack-o-lanterns, hanging skeletons, and sudden bursts of ghosts engulfed in dark mist did nothing more than earn a casual curious glance or slight jump before they went on their merry way, laughing as usual.

Something though, would come to disrupt their merriment, and while no shadow was cast it wouldn’t matter as people gazed up and towards the dark figure slowly flying overhead. It only took an imposing outline to inspire fear and panic in them, fleeing and screaming as their voices struggled to be heard over the music.

“Run mortals! Or face my wrath! Rawr!” The monster roared out, though it wouldn’t be noticed by even one of the fleeing townspeople that the deep tone was being forced, or that strolling beneath it was the slender form of a female Sylvari, wrapped in a robe of browned leaves and braided vines.

The figure above fluctuated and flickered, before disappearing all together. A bird-shaped stone sped downwards to crash land before her, skipping a few times along the street. A slight frown tugged at her lips as she gingerly picked it up by its wing-like appendage. She was making her way towards an odd sight within the district, an area walled off with various curtains, with the only discernable shapes behind it large and unmoving, a rather un-festive sight at first glance. Slipping through the curtains, she’d speak softly as her frown remained, “S-sorry… I think I may have broken your flying Golem sir…”

“Broken…? Broken?!” A voice hissed out from the towering, nearly home-sized pumpkin that rested at the center. Peeking out from one of the many carved spaces in it, an Asura sighed as his eyes narrowed at the female through the goggles planted firmly over them, frowning with pointed teeth visible in an obvious display of his displeasure. “Please tell me Bookah, that the animated leaf did NOT just say they had broken my one-of-a-kind, flight-enabled projection golem!”

“Hmm… then no, she didn’t break your fancy toy short stuff…” The “Bookah”, as addressed by the Asura, sighed as he busied himself with dragging and cleaning up the chunks of pumpkin carved away as well as its guts into a far away corner before his gaze shifted towards the Sylvari. “I’m sure she didn’t mean to though…”

“That’s right!” The Sylvari chirped as she smiled wide and nodded. “I was just attempting to get into the spirit of things is all…!”

“Yes, well… I’ll make sure to inform the Seraph when they inevitably come knocking that it was their own fault that their undeveloped senses couldn’t discern reality from an illusion projected outwards from the surface of a golem… Now, bring it to me…”

“Of course…!” The Sylvari nodded again as she happily handed the broken thing over to the Asura, who stumbled out from the pumpkin with a hop, bits of orange goo clinging to his large ears and narrow shoulders. His frown only deepened as he looked his masterpiece over, pulling his goggles up.

“Mm, bad enough you had me grow this giant fruit… Now I have to deal with this, the power crystal in its shoulder is cracked, this wing is completely worthless now, and it looks like you knocked the crystal display along its under-carriage out of alignment. I do hope you are aware you’ll be held fully financially responsible for this Bookah…” The Asura wandered off to the side, mumbling to himself as he obviously started mentally listing and adding up the new expenses as he squeezed the bridge of his nose between his fingers, shutting out all the noise around him.

“So…” The female began, hoping to get the subject shifted away to something much more… positive. “How’s the big lantern coming along…?” Curiously she had looked the massive carved gourd over, unable to recognize what creature might be carved out of its face, but recognized it easily as the one she had toyed with the image of just a moment ago.

“Good enough, he was putting the finishing touches on the lighting filament inside of it before you came along…” The human spoke up, sighing as he rested against a nearby wall, stretching out for a moment of reprieve. “It worked just fine… but he isn’t satisfied with “fine”, he wants the whole thing lit up like the sun…”

“Again Bookah, my pumpkin, and as a genius it is my duty to ensure that everything I touch is beyond the simple standards of Bookah perfection, even if it is something I despise…” The Asura spoke as he slowly sat his small golem aside before slipping back into the depths of the pumpkin, his goggles firmly back in place. Shortly afterwards, he ignited the light source, a deep and bright red around the monstrous carved outline.

As the human and Sylvari admired the pumpkin, they were unaware of the shadowy mass growing larger and larger rather quickly on the other side of their tarp though until it was too late. While it would be nigh-impossible to discern any recognizable shape from it, it wouldn’t be hard to tell who or what it was as soon as the deep voice bellowed out.

“Bear’s claw, this shall be a beast worthy of slaying!” The Norn had grinned, launching his massive form into the air and right towards the curtains. All he had seen was the illuminated outline of the monstrous figure, looking before he leapt be damned as he went in for the kill. Tumbling through the air and wrapped up in the curtain, he’d crash into the pumpkin, caving it inwards before a zapping sound crackled in the air, obscured by the terrified screams of the Human, Sylvari, and Asura on the other side. An explosion rang out as it blew out the curtains from all sides, and briefly illuminated the surroundings bright as day for but a single moment.

As the various degrees of roasted remains pumpkin guts and seeds fell all about them, The Human and Sylvari coughed, shaking off the caked remains of their night’s work. Looking towards the struggling lump under the curtains, they’d watch as the Norn had torn his way free with a bellowing laughter. “Ahh! Not quite how I expected my quarry to go, but it was quite an end for a short tale!”

“Oh dear, oh dear… what happened to our Asura friend…?” The Sylvari fretted, frowning as her bright eyes darted around the mess, until they settled upon the writhing mass of solidified pumpkin gunk. Moving over to it, she would start to break it open, only for the slightly blackened form of the Asura to break himself out on his own, wobbling and coughing as he dragged himself out.”

“You… Y-you…!” He began, his eyes burning as he worked his way through the muck and towards the still-clueless Norn, finger jabbing at his meaty chest. “You could of killed me you ten tons of lower-life form lummox! I’d of almost been impressed by the magnitude of the explosion if it wasn’t for the fact I was ground-zero when you shorted the filament housing and almost burnt me back into a part of the Eternal Alchemy!” The Asura’s tone only grew harsher and higher pitched, picking up speed as his words began to rattle out at a blinding, babbling pace, dazing the poor Norn whose only response was to stare dumbly at the diminutive figure.

It was a good thing that no one could understand him, as a curious Asura nearby, attracted by the explosion, had their expression turned to that of shock as they blushed and turned to walk the other way as a crowd began to gather, also attracted by the noise that managed to briefly outdo the orchestra.

It was at this time that Bruce, Herald of the Mad King, had decided to start his usual runs of the city. Slipping himself up onto his decrepit horse he would lift up and onto his shoulders a freshly carved pumpkin head, having lost his old one during the Mad King’s Peacefully Civilized Yet Bloody Rebellious Ordered Revolt back in 1250 AE. Rounding the corner with a bumbling trot, the old horse neighed with a cough and he spoke as loud as he could, muffled as he was by his pumpkin head.

“The Mad King is coming! The Mad King is coming!” He spoke, shouting to the onlookers as he navigated his way through the group of onlookers, unaware of the mess ahead waiting for him.

“Prepare for the coming of the Mad King! He will rock your very wo-aaaagh!” He’d cry out, his horse’s old hooves sliding on bits of pumpkin guts, which sent sent it flipping right over, with Bruce himself tossed forwards and face-first into the road. With a splat, his pumpkin head was gone, ruining his good looks, for the rest of that night at least.

After that initial shock, eventually everyone would disperse. The onlookers going back to their homes, the human male sighing as he went for something bigger to shovel the mess up, the female Sylvari kneeling down to pat the Heralds shoulder before skipping off while the Asura berated his prone form about nearly running him down, and the Norn merely laughed and walked off to the nearest Tavern, eager to tell his newest and greatest tale yet. Bruce too would finally pull himself up, holding a large roasted pumpkin seed over his neck as he stumbled for his horse and left.

Some say that an eerily cold wind blew through Divinity’s Reach that night, and those listening close enough or with big enough ears swore they heard a cackling laughter, like that of a mad man. Worst still, that same laugh had a voice, who spoke horrible jokes, jokes about pumpkin-headed assistants meeting the road, or asking how many pumpkins it takes to trip up a horse…

(Well here's my entry, I hope its enjoyable enough to read to make up for the length of it! I took a creative liberty or two in writing it, and it should be obvious where that's at but hey, blame ArenaNet for the lack of GW2 Holiday information! )

Hmm, considering it's a "blood knife" and for Necromancers... I'd be guessing Bone Znoble, sounds much more sinister and evil ritual-ishy if its bone instead of wood, though wood can be pretty darn evil as well! Coloration and look though definitely screams bone...

Sorry for this huge brick of text, but the inspiration just came to me..Have a good read and enjoy! =)

- The scene is set on a cold Halloween night. The air is still and the moon is full and beautiful. A team of adventurers are celebrating their success in the raid of the centaur camps on the outskirts of a densely wooded forest.-

It was a good night. He had a great time partying alongside with his party and there was still loot to divide up between them. He was a little drunk -only a little- and had decided to wander away from the merriment in order to seek some other forms of entertainment. He walked along the dimly moonlight path -barely a path, it was merely a little trail winding its way through the heart of the forest and back out again- still feeling the pleasant cloudiness of the ale buzzing inside of him. However, he soon tired of the walking and he sat at the base of a large tree to rest. He set his sword down -still at an easy reach should a monster show up- and admired the sight of the moon, though obscured by thick dark branches.

-A sound, almost akin to a woman's voice. She is singing a lullaby...He did not understand the words, but somehow it sounds so familiar-

A wave of nausea goes through his body. He concluded that he must have drunken a bit more than he thought. But the sound..it sounded so..He listened carefully to that sound once again..to the singing of the woman.

-It sounds so very familiar..Almost..Almost like..-

He stood. He knew that voice! Quickly he rushed through the forest -off the little trail and through the underbrush- to find the source of the singing. He did not notice the branches whipping away at his cheeks and arms -leaving little cuts behind.

Out of breath, he finally reaches a small clearing.

-The branches are especially thick here and only very thin beams of moonlight shine through the treetops. There is a woman sitting in the middle of the clearing. She is the source of the singing he had heard. Her figure is obscured and half hidden in the shadows of the trees-

Though the figure is shrouded, he knows exactly who is sitting there. Joyful tears come to his eyes as he walked closer to her. It was his sister. He had thought her lost in one of the centaur raids months but she was here, alive before him. She sang to him to let him know that she was alive. He called out to her -sister!- but still she continued her singing. Undeterred, he sprinted the remaining distance separating him and his beloved sister and hugged her fiercely.

-Sister! I'm so happy that you are alright! I-

-skirsssht-

-The singing stops. There is a brief cacophony of sounds as roots come alive and begin to feed. Soon the clearing is empty again, save for the woman sitting obscured and half hidden in the shadows of the trees.-